Page 22

Chapter 22

Olivia

O livia had the whole day after the soiree free—a reward for her success the night before. Apparently, the queen had been pleased with her performance.

Olivia had even enjoyed the event more than she expected, making a game of finally putting faces to all the names she had learned. She was just sorry Julius had found the event so draining. Even the prince deserved to relax and enjoy himself sometimes.

When a knock sounded on the door of her sitting room, she called a hopeful welcome. And sure enough, it was Julius who strode into the room, making her smile and push away the last of her breakfast.

Unlike the night before, he smiled back. A night’s rest must have done him good. He did give Mildred’s nest a wide berth, though, which made her laugh.

“She’s not going to hurt you,” Olivia laughed. “She’s sleeping after a big feed, so she’s not even going to wake up. I was worried about her feeling too confined at the palace, but I don’t think she’s left my suite even once since we arrived. She seems to love it.”

“For the sake of the other palace residents, I suspect that’s a good thing.” Julius eyed her with misgiving. “Is she bigger than when we brought her here?”

Olivia winced. “She looks that way to me, too. There’s just so much Legacy power here given our recent betrothal. But at least she’s safe—even if she eventually grows to the size of a fully-grown horse.”

Mildred opened an eye and squeaked at Julius, making him flinch. Olivia laughed again.

“I heard you have a whole day off,” he said, finally reaching the small table where she was sitting. “And it just so happens to be a full market day as well, which gives us a good excuse to go into the city. So would you like to visit the central market?”

“Oh yes!” Olivia leaped to her feet. “Just let me get organized.”

Julius laughed. “You can finish your breakfast. We have the whole day.”

“No, no, I’m ready.” Olivia was too excited to sit sedately and eat, and she’d been mostly finished anyway.

Julius’s gaze saddened as he watched her. “I’m sorry you’ve had to wait so long to get into the city again.”

Olivia stilled, worried by his tone. Did he think she resented him for her busy schedule?

“I’m not totally unreasonable.” She kept her voice light. “I know we have no evidence that something bad has happened to Marigold, and I know my first responsibility is to my current role here at the palace—Marigold herself ensured that. I just want to be allowed to search for her in my free time.”

Julius hesitated. “I want you to know that if we do find any solid evidence of foul play, everything will change. If we can prove to my parents that she’s been abducted, then finding and retrieving her will become a matter of utmost importance to the crown—despite her most recent actions.”

Relief flooded Olivia. Finding evidence was a much less daunting prospect than actually finding and freeing her friend. Everything considered, it was a most reasonable compromise.

Riding out of the palace, she practically bounced in her saddle. A visit to the market was appealing even without an ulterior motive. She had often found an excuse to head into the city on market days when she lived with her aunt and uncle.

The bustle of the crowds reached her ears before the central square came into view, and the smells followed close behind—the delicious scents of roasting food and sweet buns mixed with the less appealing smell of livestock—a combination potent enough to override the pervading smell of the ocean.

Olivia and Julius dismounted, half the guards dismounting with them while the other half took charge of the horses. Olivia feared the guards would serve as an invisible wall, scaring the populace away from them, but to her surprise the royal couple were approached by a slow but constant trickle of people.

Most wanted to congratulate them on their betrothal, but a few had questions about Olivia’s background or complaints to raise with the crown. Olivia answered the questions about herself honestly, and Julius fielded the complaints with easy poise. And each time he was forced to do so, she was grateful again for his presence. Without him, she would have struggled to answer.

“The people don’t seem at all put off by our guards,” she murmured after a middle-aged merchant bowed and disappeared back into the crowds. She reconsidered her words. “Or perhaps they’re put off just the right amount since no one is crowding us this time.” She shivered involuntarily at the memory of her previous excursion, and Julius stepped closer, the pressure of his shoulder against hers reassuring.

She tried to shake off the mood. “It’s admirable the way your family have made the crown so accessible.”

“Actually,” he said slowly. “I think they’re approaching us because of you. I’ve never had this experience before.”

Olivia turned to him in astonishment. “But you must have been to the market before today!”

“Of course. But when I came, no one approached to talk to me. Not like this.”

“No one?” It didn’t seem possible given their experience thus far.

Julius shrugged. “It seemed normal to me, and I never questioned it. Not until my mother made that comment after our betrothal.”

Olivia frowned, trying to think what comment he might mean. It had obviously made more of an impression on him than on her.

“I thought I’d mastered my role as crown prince—as Prince Charming,” Julius continued in a low voice. “But it turns out I had only learned how to manage at court.” He forced a laugh. “I’m not nearly as charming as I thought I was.”

The sound of his flat laugh twisted Olivia’s heart. In her time at the palace, she had seen how much Julius dedicated himself to his position. And she had experienced firsthand the power of his charm—even when he was being Julius, not the prince. It pained her to think he doubted himself so much.

But when he looked at her, his face lightened, and he gave a more natural-sounding laugh. “I used to be quite secure in my own brilliance, you know. Until I met a girl on a hill who didn’t find me charming at all.”

Olivia laughed, thinking how much her perception of him had changed since that day. “It wasn’t your fault, you know,” she said. “At least not at first. I just didn’t want you looking for my slipper! Although I’ll admit that walking off a cliff was an excessive reaction to my rejection.”

Julius’s lips twitched as he looked down at her. “Everyone says you’re beautiful, but you’re not that beautiful, I’m afraid.”

She snorted. “I should hope not!”

“But I’m sure you’re far too kind to leave me curious a second time.” He grinned at her. “What was the great mystery of the missing slipper?”

Olivia flushed and mumbled the answer in a hurry, under her breath.

“Pardon? What was that?” Julius’s lips twitched, despite his solemn expression.

Olivia sighed and repeated it more slowly and at an audible volume, making Julius break into unrestrained laughter.

“No wonder you wanted to get rid of me as quickly as possible,” he said when his mirth subsided.

Two matrons approached them, and they broke off their conversation to accept the women’s greetings and congratulations. When they walked away again, Olivia watched Julius from the corner of her eye.

“It’s true I didn’t find you charming at first,” Olivia said after a moment of silence between them. “But I also misjudged you, and I’m sorry for that.”

Julius raised a quizzical eyebrow, and she sighed. “In the beginning, I thought your apologies were insincere—that they were all self-serving. But I’m sure now that you did mean them. You might not be perfect, Julius, but you try harder than anyone I’ve ever met.”

“A compliment, of sorts.” He gave her a twisted smile.

Olivia shook her head stubbornly. “It’s a very high compliment. You never got to choose your role, Julius, and yet you still dedicate yourself to it. I admire that.” She was silent for a beat. “And I think you underestimate yourself. Every person who has approached us today has left with a smile. Prince Charming seems to be perfectly well received by the regular citizens.”

“Yes, because you’re here. You make them more comfortable.”

Olivia shrugged. “And I’m able to be comfortable at court because I have you beside me. Why do you think you have to be good at everything alone? No one is good at everything—not even Prince Charming.” She grinned. “You have to leave something for me, or else why am I even here?”

He stared at her, as if struck by her words. When he remained silent, she looked away. It would have been nice to hear some words of reassurance—to hear that he saw value and purpose in her presence as she did in his. But perhaps that was too much to ask when he hadn’t asked for his betrothal any more than he’d asked to be born crown prince.

She stumbled, clutching at his arm as her toe landed on something small and sharp inside her boot. Sighing, she limped toward the large fountain in the center of the market. She could sit on its rim and fish out the stone that had wormed its way into her shoe.

“I’ll just need a minute,” she told Julius, sending him to line up for sticks of roasted meat.

Removing her boot, she shook out the stone and placed the shoe on the fountain edge beside her. Twisting up her foot, she examined the hole the stone had made in the toe of her stocking. It was located in an annoying position, but there was nothing she could do about it until she returned to the palace.

Turning to retrieve the shoe, she found the fountain beside her empty.

“Drat!” She looked around for it without much hope. It had been her fault for letting it out of her grip. She should have known better. It was too tempting an opportunity for the Legacy.

And thanks to the Legacy, she was unlikely to see it again. Most people never did find the single shoes the Legacy caused them to constantly lose. It was a wonder the whole kingdom wasn’t littered with piles of discarded, pairless shoes.

“Are you looking for this?” A now familiar voice asked from beside her.

She looked up to find Julius grinning down at her, her lost boot in one hand and two sticks of fragrant roast meat in the other.

“You found it!” she cried in surprise, happily accepting the shoe and slipping her foot into it.

“Of course I did.” He grinned smugly at her. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten that I’m the one person in the kingdom more prone to finding shoes than losing them.”

“You should set up a business reuniting people with their lost shoes,” she said. “It would be a great boon to the whole city.”

“I’m not sure my parents would consider that the best use of the advantages I’ve been gifted by the Legacy,” Julius said dryly.

“That’s just because they’ve always had you around to find their missing shoes,” Olivia muttered under her breath, getting back to her feet. “You could be the most popular prince in history.”

“I think I might already have achieved that.” Julius’s smile turned warmer, making her chest tighten, and she quickly took one of the sticks of meat and resumed walking.

She led him to one of her favorite spots in the market—a glassblower’s stall. She had never been able to afford any of the wares, but she loved to look at the fantastical products that could only be made in Sovar.

Glancing across the rows of slippers, heat-resistant flexible gloves, shatter-proof pieces of armor that were stronger than steel, and all manner of more frippery baubles, she looked in vain for a mirror.

In the past, she had only ever gazed at the glass creations, not wanting to pester the stallholder with questions when she wasn’t a true customer. But with Julius at her side, she was emboldened to engage with the man.

“Do you have any mirrors?” she asked, unable to remember any lessons on Sovaran mirrors in school, only Auldanan ones.

The stallholder, who had perked up at the appearance of the royal visitors, looked crestfallen. “I’m afraid not, my lady. Sovaran glassblowers can only make standard mirrors. The Sovar Legacy doesn’t help us at all—I guess it leaves that to the Auldana Legacy.”

Olivia tried not to look disappointed. “Do any of the stalls here carry Auldanan mirrors, then?”

The stallholder’s brows rose. “Is Your Ladyship after an enchanted mirror?”

Olivia quickly shook her head. “I was merely curious. I’ve heard stories about their various powers, and I was hoping to see for myself.”

“Aye,” the stallholder agreed, seeming to accept her explanation. “The stories are certainly fantastical. It’s enough to make you wonder if they’ve been exaggerated.” He looked at his own wares and huffed a laugh. “But then who would imagine armor made from glass? I’m sure it sounds just as fantastical to other kingdoms as the stories of the mirrors are to us.”

“Then you’ve never seen an Auldanan mirror for yourself?” Olivia asked.

“More’s the pity,” the man said. “I reckon I could fetch a pretty penny for one. But those Auldanans don’t like selling ‘em outside their own kingdom. If you don’t mind my saying so,” he added as he suddenly remembered his audience.

“It isn’t forbidden,” Julius added. “Not like it is in the case of those Oakdenian weapons that they infuse with their sleeping herbs or with our own glass armor.” He rapped a knuckle on a breastplate in front of him. “But they refuse to sell their mirrors to regular merchant trains, so we only have a few that were sold to us by roving merchants.”

The stall keeper nodded. “It doesn’t help that we’re so far from Auldana, either. The roving merchants rarely have mirrors left by the time they reach us.” He leaned out of his stall and pointed at another one further down the row. “You could try asking there. Those two are Halburan, so you’re in luck that they’re here today. They don’t spend much time in Sovar, as you can imagine. But it’s possible they might have a mirror—for such illustrious customers as yourselves.”

Olivia thanked him and moved quickly in the direction he had pointed, curious to meet a Halburan, even if they didn’t have any mirrors. She had never met someone from the eastern kingdom of Halbury.

“Welcome! Welcome!” the man and woman called when they approached the indicated stall.

There was nothing in their appearance to mark them as foreigners, but their stall was full of unfamiliar wares. Olivia could see no sign of any mirrors, but she examined the displayed items curiously. They all appeared to be woven from straw, but she could only guess at their special properties.

The male stallholder looked from the two of them to their guards and smiled broadly.

“Surely I don’t have the pleasure of addressing His Royal Highness, Prince Julius and his lovely Lady Olivia?”

Julius smiled and confirmed their identities, making both the man and woman bob into a series of enthusiastic bows.

“A great honor. A great honor,” they repeated over the top of one another.

“I’m Snuffelslidefoot,” the man said.

“And I’m Handelboatlobe,” the woman echoed, her smile broadening at the startled look on Olivia’s face. “We’re siblings, and our parents are highly traditional. Believe in keeping up the old ways, they do—especially when it comes to proper Halburan names.”

Olivia giggled and then immediately felt guilty, but the woman didn’t seem offended.

“I’m impressed you’ve traveled all the way here,” Olivia said, wishing it wasn’t rude to ask what price their Legacy extracted while they were in Sovar.

“We never could stay in one place,” the man said. “Which means we’re a great trial to our traditional parents.”

The woman smiled and winked. “Although they do like the presents we bring back. There’s nothing like Sovaran glass for making bargains in Halbury.”

“I don’t suppose you have any Auldanan mirrors?” Julius asked, and they both looked disappointed, shaking their heads.

“Everything we have comes from Halbury, Your Highness. But we can keep our eye out for one for future visits, if you’re interested.”

Julius hesitated, glancing at Olivia. “By all means, I would be most curious to see anything you could find. And naturally I would pay more for a special commission.”

The siblings beamed at his words, once again falling into a series of bows.

When they had exchanged final well wishes with the unusual two, they strolled further down the row of stalls.

“Are Auldanan mirrors really so valuable that you would request one without limitation?” Olivia asked, surprise and unease stirring inside her.

Julius nodded. “I’m sure my parents will be willing to purchase any mirror the Halburans can find.”

Olivia worried at her bottom lip, thinking of the mirror she had tucked away in her room back at the palace. When Avery had gifted it to her, she had claimed to still have it because it was faulty. Olivia had accepted the gift under the assumption that it was a defective product—one the merchant girl wouldn’t be able to sell. But now she suspected Avery had phrased it that way so Olivia would feel free to accept it. And as a consequence, Olivia hadn’t realized the value of the gift she had been given.

“Is something wrong?” Julius asked her quietly, concern in his eyes.

“No, nothing,” she said quickly, not ready to confess to the mirror’s existence.

But her mind lingered on the conversation, uneasiness still roiling in her gut. If her mirror was much rarer than she had supposed, was it right for her to hoard it for her own use? Shouldn’t she offer it to Julius to be used for the good of the whole kingdom?

She glanced at him, reluctance staying her tongue. It wasn’t that she feared he would misuse it. She was just reluctant to part with something that was so precious to her. The mirror had given her the last bit of courage to leave home and seek a new life for herself. If she handed it over to Julius now, she would lose it completely when their betrothal was dissolved.

Julius was still watching her with concern in his eyes, so she pushed the thought aside. She didn’t have to make a decision immediately.

“Look, cider!” she cried, spotting her favorite stall. She turned to Julius with a broad smile. “Wait until you taste it. He gets the spice mix perfect.”

Julius looked much more surprised than her enthusiasm for a common market drink warranted, but he followed her over to the stall without protest.

“Olivia!” the stallholder called as soon as he saw her, his face breaking into a welcoming smile. “Lady Olivia, I should say now.” He gave her a deep bow, and she protested.

“That’s not necessary, Markus. Here at your stall, I’m merely another customer.”

The man’s eyebrows rose, his eyes darting briefly to Julius. “Is that right now? In that case, you’ll be wanting two tankards of my cider?”

“Of course.” She grinned at him. “It wouldn’t be a trip to the market without one.”

Markus ushered them to two rough stools he kept along the far edge of his stall as a convenience for customers who wished to enjoy their drink at a more leisurely pace. Olivia sat in one with alacrity, settling in for a comfortable chat with the unusual man, as she always did.

His manner was odd, at times almost bordering on foolish, but his observations were witty and astute. She had learned many an interesting piece of capital gossip at his stall.

“This is Prince Julius,” she said as she gestured for him to sit beside her. “Julius, this is Markus, the maker of the city’s best cider.”

“You flatter me!” Markus’s obsequious manner was even more pronounced than usual. “But it does a man’s heart good to see his hard work appreciated.”

He filled two tankards and handed them each one. Olivia glanced at Julius, hoping he would see past Markus’s off-putting manner.

To her relief, she could see no trace of distaste on the prince’s face. But the intensity of the look he was directing at Markus threw her off guard. It was almost as if Julius was trying to signal something to the man without words. Had they already met?

“I’m not sure there’s much gossip I can relate to you today, lass,” Markus said with a grin. “Most of the gossip these last weeks has been about you, and I hope I know better than to repeat gossip to its subject.” He chuckled. “But you’ve nothing to be ashamed about, I’ll say that much. The city has rallied behind you.”

Julius shifted slightly, leaning infinitesimally toward the man. “Nothing at all, sir? Are you sure? Not even the smallest tidbit to occupy us while we drink?”

Olivia stared at him, her eyes narrowing. There was definitely something going on she didn’t understand.

“Well, now.” Markus scratched his chin. “I might be able to think of the odd bit of news.” He glanced between them. “Perhaps something related to the new princess if not actually about her, per se.”

“Related to me?” Olivia asked.

Julius tensed beside her, as if anxious to hear Markus’s news. She gave him another odd look, but his full focus was on the stallholder.

“Word reached my ears that Her Ladyship was interested in kidnapped girls,” Markus said, busying his hands as he wiped down his stall.

Olivia’s mouth fell open. But Julius gave a small, satisfied smile before taking a sip of cider.

“When I heard that,” Markus continued. “It got me curious, it did. As it might have done for anyone. So I asked around a bit.”

“And did you hear anything?” Julius asked.

Olivia also leaned forward. She had come to the market intending to ask Markus about that very topic—since he always seemed to know something about everything. But she couldn’t believe they had started on the topic without her needing to say anything.

“Well, now, that turned out to be mighty interesting,” Markus said. “Mighty interesting.”

He fell silent as another customer approached. The woman was seeking wares to take away with her, and she didn’t linger, leaving them alone again with Markus.

“Well?” Julius asked, clearly struggling to contain his interest.

“Rumor has it,” Markus said, “that in the last five years there has been a whole string of abductions—always girls between ten and eighteen.”

Olivia gasped, and Julius put a hand on her knee, out of sight of the general marketgoers. She looked down at it and then back at him. He wasn’t looking at her, but from the tension in his frame, he was clearly trying to warn her of something. But what? Was she not permitted a dramatic reaction to such a shocking piece of news?

Schooling her face into a calmer expression, she nodded with polite interest. Julius’s hand lifted from her knee, and she had to stop herself staring at the spot where it had rested.

“How many have been taken exactly?” Julius asked, although his tone and face suggested they were talking about the merest commonplace.

“Now, that’s hard to say.” Markus fetched a new cloth and began wiping the stall again. “Hard to pin down details, it is, since the families have all left the city.”

“What, all of them?” Julius asked. “Are you sure?”

Markus threw him a sharp look, and Julius murmured a hurried apology. Olivia looked between them again, her bewilderment growing.

“Why have I not heard of this before?” Julius asked instead. “If girls are being steadily spirited away from beneath our noses, surely my father has been informed.”

“As to that…” Markus hesitated. “I think you might find it hasn’t come to the palace’s ear. Even I hadn’t heard enough to join the dots together until I started looking.”

“But how is that possible?” Julius asked, taking another distracted drink.

“Perhaps because all the girls have been safely returned? Not a scratch on them, I heard.”

“They were returned?” Olivia forgot her confusion in her relief at that piece of information. “All of them? That’s very good news.” She was thinking of Marigold as she said it, although she was glad for the other girls as well.

“Depends who you ask,” Markus said cryptically, unconsciously echoing her own response to Bess on the beach.

“Were they all ransomed, then?” she asked. “What did their families have to give up?”

Markus gave her an approving smile. “I always thought you were a right one, lass. Good instincts. Aye, that’s the question.” He looked at Julius. “It was no easy feat getting answers, but my curiosity was well and truly awakened by the time it got that far, so I’ll confess I chased the matter down, despite no exact orders, so to speak.”

Orders? A startling possibility occurred to Olivia—one that might explain the strange mismatch between Markus’s manner and the intelligence she had recognized underneath.

“What did you find?” she asked, keeping her suspicions to herself for the moment.

“It’s what I couldn’t find that interested me,” he said. “There was plenty of talk of ransoms, but not a single account did I hear of any coin changing hands.”

“What sort of ransom could the abductors have demanded if not gold?” Julius wondered aloud.

“No one would tell me direct,” Markus said. “Most of them probably didn’t know. But I have a noggin of me own.” He tapped his head. “Every one of those poor girls was the daughter of someone running a small to medium-sized business—successful ones, mind you. Ones on the verge of expansion.”

Julius’s brows drew together. “And after the abductions?”

“Every one of the families moved out of the capital, leaving managers to run their businesses, and all thought of expansion was forgotten.”

Olivia’s eyes widened. It matched Bess’s story exactly.

“A business rival, then,” Julius breathed. “But why didn’t they make their complaints to the palace? I can understand if they were afraid to do so while the girls were still missing—I’m sure all sorts of threats were made. But after they had been recovered, they could have gone to the guards. With such a specific ransom, they must have had some suspicion who was behind the abductions.”

“Perhaps they had more than a suspicion.” Markus didn’t meet Julius’s eyes. “Remember, these families weren’t yet wealthy or influential enough to have the ear of the king. And mayhap they knew their adversary was someone who did have that ear.”

Julius put down his tankard, his voice turning to ice. “If you mean to suggest my family had anything to do with?—”

“Now, now,” Markus said with alarm, wiping even harder. “Of course I wasn’t suggesting any such thing. But there are powerful people who have the king’s ear, are there not? Is it impossible to imagine one of them might have dealings below the law? Dealings he would do much to keep concealed.”

Julius let out a breath and picked his tankard back up. “My apologies. Of course I can’t deny the possibility of such a thing. Although I can assure you that if it is the case, my father knows nothing about it.”

“Aye, he’s always been a fair dealer, King Robert,” Markus agreed. “But when it comes to a man’s children, there are some risks a man isn’t willing to make.”

Olivia took a small sip, unable to enjoy the burst of flavor in her mouth. Was it only good fortune that Nell or Hattie hadn’t been taken, back when Uncle Walt’s business was less established and his influence less substantial? The abducted girls had been returned safely, but they must have been traumatized by the experience.

“So someone has been abducting girls at key moments throughout the last few years,” Julius muttered. “And whoever it is has enough influence to send the families fleeing the capital rather than point any fingers.”

“And because they all stayed quiet,” Olivia said, “no one connected the threads.”

“There are only a handful of families with that sort of power,” Julius said. “And all of them are far too powerful for us to start making accusations based on a hunch. Even I would need some sort of proof before I started pointing fingers. Although if I at least had a name, I could start digging.”

He glanced at Markus, who silently shook his head. He had no more information.

“It’s a compelling case,” Julius said. “I’ll grant you that. But I can’t see the connection to Lady Marigold. Her family is far too powerful for anyone to threaten in such a way. And you said there’s been no ransom?” He looked to Olivia for confirmation.

She nodded silently, wishing she could think of something that might definitively link the cases.

“Oho!” Markus accepted Julius’s empty tankard back and dunked it in the tub he kept for washing. With a start, Olivia realized she had stopped drinking hers.

“Oho,” Markus repeated. “So you’re looking for someone in particular. And the daughter of Lord Emerson? Now that is a tasty tidbit.”

“You mustn’t tell anyone,” Olivia said quickly, glaring at Julius. “She’s missing, but we have no proof she was abducted. Her family are keeping it quiet, thinking she’s run away, so please don’t spread any rumors. If you were to hear something, though…”

“Don’t worry, Your Ladyship.” Markus smiled at her with the light of genuine affection in his eyes. “I always know which bits to pass on and which to keep to myself.” He glanced at Julius. “And which to pass on only to very specific ears.”

Olivia relaxed at the reminder that the man clearly worked for Julius. She finished her tankard and passed it over.

“Excellent cider,” Julius said as he stood. “You can be sure we’ll be back for more next time we’re at the market.”

“Of course.” Olivia smiled despite the whirring in her thoughts. “I never miss Markus’s stall when I come here.”

The man smiled proudly, bowing again to them as Julius tugged Olivia away.

“And an excellent thing that you’re an established customer, too,” he murmured in her ear. “Now we won’t need to worry about anyone noticing we’ve started visiting his stall.”

Olivia stared up at him. “So he really is one of your spies?”

Julius frowned at her use of the word, and she bit down on her tongue.

“Not mine,” he said shortly. “I’ve only met him once before. But he’s an excellent source of information for my father. But we don’t normally visit in person.”

“So does that mean he’s a credible source?” she asked. “Can we take this tale to your father?”

Julius hesitated, and Olivia’s heart sank.

“Until we can find a link to Marigold, I don’t think it’s worth the risk of telling anyone about this,” he said. “Except Cade, if you feel the need to confide in someone.”

The last words seemed wrenched out of him, but Olivia didn’t have time to consider such oddities.

“But why not?” she asked hotly, drawing him into an alcove in the far corner of the market, away from the general flow of traffic. “What risk is there?”

Julius glanced over her shoulder at the bustling square. “That my parents might forbid us to come at all if they learn what we’re attempting to do.”

Olivia tensed but didn’t speak her dismay, and he continued.

“They would almost certainly forbid us from directly approaching Markus again.”

“And if they don’t believe there’s any connection, they may even tell him not to pursue the matter.” Olivia heard the defeat in her own voice.

Julius gave her an encouraging smile. “We have no need to tell them at this stage, anyway. We already have the crown’s best man on the case. If he tracks anything down about Marigold specifically, or any tangible proof of the other kidnappings, we can go to my father at that point.”

Olivia nodded, unable to fault his logic. Visiting Markus and waiting on news wasn’t much, but she was loath to have even that taken from her.

“Very well,” she said. “We wait, and we visit the market again as soon as we can.”

Julius gave her another smile, clearly hoping to cheer her up. “And we celebrate the one bit of good news.”

Olivia stared at him, unable to think of anything good.

“All those girls were returned unharmed, remember. So we have good reason to hope that if the same villains have Marigold, they won’t be harming her either.”

Olivia finally smiled. That was one piece of good news, and she would cling to it through her protocol-filled days like a lifeline.